ink pig!!! artisan 800 I am serious here. Brand new high capacity black cartridge. Print TWO pages; one on glossy Epson paper and the other on matte Epson, both full size, 8 and a half by eleven. Both were 98% black....covers for my Leica instruction book...and the INK PIG Artisan 800 uses up one half...ONE HALF!!! of the cartridge!! Someone with a lot of ink should try printing full size glossies using each color and black as well ( individual prints of each color) and see how many it tAKES to use up the cartridge. BET you don't get TEN out of each, if that. That works out to a high price for each print. Comments? Contacted Epson and they go on about priming, like that makes a difference. Some suPport guy in INDIA or someplace says he will send me some free ink, then the line goes dead. WHAT AN INK PIG!!!!! ink pig!!! artisan 800 I am serious here. Brand new high capacity black cartridge. Print TWO pages; one on glossy Epson paper and the other on matte Epson, both full size, 8 and a half by eleven.... » Read More ink pig!!! artisan 800 I am serious here. Brand new high capacity black cartridge. Print TWO pages; one on glossy Epson paper and the other on matte Epson, both full size, 8 and a half by eleven. Both were 98% black....covers for my Leica instruction book...and the INK PIG Artisan 800 uses up one half...ONE HALF!!! of the cartridge!! Someone with a lot of ink should try printing full size glossies using each color and black as well ( individual prints of each color) and see how many it tAKES to use up the cartridge. BET you don't get TEN out of each, if that. That works out to a high price for each print. Comments? Contacted Epson and they go on about priming, like that makes a difference. Some suPport guy in INDIA or someplace says he will send me some free ink, then the line goes dead. WHAT AN INK PIG!!!!! « Show Less
1913
James,I am trying to decide between the canon 830 AiO and the epson artisian 800. If you look at the negative comments both printers receive high marks for being ink pigs!have you tried more pages with the epson? is it still using as much ink? I wish thw=ere was some way to tell which printer is worse.
1914
Thanks for all the info regarding ink usuage...scared me away from buying this one!
1915
I will never, ever buy another Epson printer. The Artisan 800 is the worst ink hog I have ever seen. I am going back to my good old HP Deskjet 932, which can print a zillion pages on one $35 cartridge.
1916
I am at the point of replacing this printer because I simply can't afford to keep putting ink in it. My best estimate is that I get perhaps 20 documents: 10 4x6 photos and 10 normal 'office' docs from a set of ink cartridges. At close to $60 for a set, that's nowhere close to 4.5 cents. This is easily the most expensive printer to supply and maintain that I have ever owned. It won't be for long as I simply can't keep feeding the Epson ink monster.
1917
I have also noticed by ink levels dropping dramatically with no printing going on. I agree the ink must be evaporating. This is very frustrating and the ink is too expensive to be evaporating into thin air!
1918
Boy, I am at a lose! This is the top ranked wireless printer on Consumer Reports website. According to CR the cost per page of text is arouned 4.5 cents! Has anyone come close to this? Is it that photos use so much ink? Hmm... I guess I will have to continue my research.
1919
Ink pig is a mild term. I printed about 12 pages of text and labeled 10 or so discs. The ink cartridges that came with the machine are practically empty. What's the deal? I have had an Epson R200 now for a couple of years and have only had to replace the cartridges once. I would hate to pay for high capacity cartridges and only get double output. I guess I need to take O'Shaughnessey's advice and gripe out Epson!
467252
Hello, I bought 5 sets of ink cartridges off of a seller on that large auction site thinking I would save loads of money. Followed the instuctions to a tee and my printer now does not recognize the chips. Tried reset hold/ OK hold, nothing. Wasted 36 bucks on 35 cartridges I cannot use, not to mention the huge mess when you open the "pressurized" new cartridges. Ink on clothing and desk with no fore-warning. Avoid the refill cartridges that you have to pull off the chip and reset it on the new cartridge unless you love throwing money away while becoming totally annoyed and exasperated at this exercise in futility. Hello, I bought 5 sets of ink cartridges off of a seller on that large auction site thinking I would save loads of money. Followed the instuctions to a tee and my printer now does not recognize the chips. Tried reset hold/ OK hold, nothing. Wasted 36 bucks on 35 cartridges I cannot use, not to mention the huge mess when you open the "pressurized" new cartridges. Ink on clothing and desk with no fore-warning. Avoid the refill cartridges that you have to pull off the chip and reset it on the new cartridge unless you love throwing money away while becoming totally annoyed and... » Read More Hello, I bought 5 sets of ink cartridges off of a seller on that large auction site thinking I would save loads of money. Followed the instuctions to a tee and my printer now does not recognize the chips. Tried reset hold/ OK hold, nothing. Wasted 36 bucks on 35 cartridges I cannot use, not to mention the huge mess when you open the "pressurized" new cartridges. Ink on clothing and desk with no fore-warning. Avoid the refill cartridges that you have to pull off the chip and reset it on the new cartridge unless you love throwing money away while becoming totally annoyed and exasperated at this exercise in futility. « Show Less
17959
I have an older Epson and was wanting to replace it for that very reason. I can't print anything when any color is out. So it says I need to replace the light blue and won't let me print anything until I do. Since I never use color, I'm guessing the blue just dried out. At any rate, I can't figure how to override that and just use black. Maybe it is just an Epson thing, as you said, to get us to buy more ink. I'm with you, I want to keep going until the ink fades and I can really see it is almost out.
2249054
Thanks, Michele. I'm surprised, too by your comments about the colours. After being advised that the cartridges for the MX860 were very expensive and that the MX850 had problems connecting wirelessly, I ended up buying an Epson TX800FW. The few photos I've printed look ok to me. (I'm not a pro). It's been great to have a fax. One if its drawbacks is only one full-sized paper tray. I've yet to fully test out the machine.
771353
I have had the Epson Artisan 800 for a few years. I have only used OEM High-capacity (98) Epson cartridges to date. (The 99 cartridges are Standard-capacity). They still cost me about $16 USD per cartridge. These 18 cartridges cost less than $10 USD (for all 18). They are marked "T98". If they are using the same number convention as the OEMs, then they are High-capacity cartridges. I cannot comment on the quality because I still have one set of OEM left (not counting what is currently in the printer). However, I can say that even the OEM cartridges can sometimes leak onto the edges of a printout, although rarely. I have had the Epson Artisan 800 for a few years. I have only used OEM High-capacity (98) Epson cartridges to date. (The 99 cartridges are Standard-capacity). They still cost me about $16 USD per cartridge. These 18 cartridges cost less than $10 USD (for all 18). They are marked "T98". If they are using the same number convention as the OEMs, then they are High-capacity cartridges. I cannot comment on the quality because I still have one set of OEM left (not counting what is currently in the printer). However, I can say that even the OEM cartridges can sometimes leak onto the... » Read More I have had the Epson Artisan 800 for a few years. I have only used OEM High-capacity (98) Epson cartridges to date. (The 99 cartridges are Standard-capacity). They still cost me about $16 USD per cartridge. These 18 cartridges cost less than $10 USD (for all 18). They are marked "T98". If they are using the same number convention as the OEMs, then they are High-capacity cartridges. I cannot comment on the quality because I still have one set of OEM left (not counting what is currently in the printer). However, I can say that even the OEM cartridges can sometimes leak onto the edges of a printout, although rarely. « Show Less
49237
Sorry, I can't be much help. The ones that came with the printer didn't last long. Figured I'd get the bigger ones. Have to say I'm very displeased with the amount of printing from one cartridge. Perhaps the cartridges that came with the printer were some sort of sample size.
1860152
Epson's Artisan line boasts 'light magenta' and 'light cyan' to increase the available color gamut... but the resolution, on heavy cardstock paper, isn't as good as the Canon. I printed a batch of business cards. The Epson Artisan 710 fared better with overall color accuracy, but the Canon Pixma MP560 put out much sharper text. The Epson Workforce 610 is a bad performer; worse than the other aforementioned models - printing the same cards, at highest resolution possible, the output was grainy and to the naked eye one could see the dithering. And text quality was worse. Which is a shame; the type of ink this printer uses is pigment-based and lasts 3 times longer (300 years vs 100). But having a shiny nickel is pointless if you don't use it. In short, "My printer's ink is best!" but it's pointless if the output quality is low. About costs - they all will use a lot of ink and the net costs are comparable. Since all 3 models use separate ink tanks, you'll still save money on cartridge replacement. Since photography is a primary point, go for the Epson Artisan 710 - like the Canon it uses dye inks, which will last 100 years, but 100 years of solid color vs 300 years of visible dithering... :) (And if you need more than 8.5x11, something like the Epson R2400 or 3800 is the better choice compared to ALL of these models, bar none.)
2063045
I have Epson artisan 1430 printer and have used refillable inks for 3 years. Black solution for me was found when using light room set sliders to black and white then process photo. You can also accomplish same in Photoshop Elements and PS 5. When ready to print you must also remember to select black and white option in Epson printer properties before you print. Problem solved beautiful output achieved
1291021
They didn't work for ME either, they are a waste of money. They worked only briefly, then I started getting the "cartridge not recognized" message and the printer is now completely useless. EPSON is the problem--they have software blocks and encoded timers on their cartridges, so if only ONE cartridge is out, the printer is completely useless: it won't print even in black & white, it won't copy, it won't fax and it won't scan. Please join me in boycotting the disgustingly immoral and unethical Epson company and do NOT buy any printer products from them! I will never own another. The WF520 was by far the worst I have ever owned, but not because of quality, which is fine-- it is their forcing you to use only their ink, thereby circumventing customer choices in ink, cartridges and other things Epson wants to monopolize. And when we buy a printer we should be able to USE it as a scanner or copier with black ink only, even if the printer has a problem with colored ink. DON'T BUY EPSON.
1107092
Funny! No but the previous "used" cartridges I have used in the past didn't produce as many prints as the original, but I paid for "new" cartridges not used and I wasn't made aware of the fact . Besides that wasn't a very professional question to ask a customer but obviously you don't care.
2183615
It depends on what is wrong with it. I know that many times my printer would tell me that I need to replace the ink even when I know there is plenty of ink. Come to find out that if I use a fake cartridge, sometimes it will reject it. So, then I have to put in a Epson cartridge and the rest of the fake ink will work fine. If you have tried cleaning the heads, then you might have to replace the ink for the color that is not printing right. You can also call Epson and they will try to help you.
1288444
Actually, I returned this printer for refund after finding out it would not do what I wanted to do and also because the ink consumption was PHENOMENAL!!!! Also, when you run out of ink, it just stops! DEAD! Until you get new cartridges, which do NOT hold as much ink as other printer cartridges. Overall, I was NOT impressed with this printer at all. Good luck! :O) (Oh, btw, I bought a Canon MG 6220 printer and I am very happy with this one!
1292647
I have the Artisan 810 and it is a major ink hog. Probably will return to HP and accept some of their flaws. At least the HP ink is a lot less expensive that the Epson. Too bad since in most other aspects, the 810 is a decent all in one unit.
341743
this is an old issue with epson printers. it is the printer - not the cartridge - which decides when it is empty. because third party cartridges often hold more ink, they appear to be defective. what you should try to compare is the page count. are you getting the same number of pages?
2179024
Maybe they where talking about the refills you inject. Honestly i would stay with suggested cartriges. Check the XL versions of ink, they carry a lot more ink
1834077
Carl! I just did it... took out the color cartridge and it printed a B/W image....hey thank YOU it is good to know just for general purposes. BTW it is darn good little printer and if you can find it on sale as I did (40 bucks) also there is a vendor here that sells both cartridges for under 20 bucks including shipping...they wanted 48 bucks at Staples for the dang cartridges themselves for cryin' out loud........:>}
2249005
One thing, though that I should have mentioned. I wouldn't buy this printer unless I owned stock in an ink company. It burns through ink like crazy and won't work if even one cartridge is empty. It burned through an entire magenta cartridge printing out a 40 odd page black and white document, or most of it, without the magenta I couldn't finish printing said document. I've probably printed out about 6-7 documents (including two of the 40 odd page black and white), mostly single test documents, and already have 10 empty cartridges ready to be recycled. I just added more ink, but I don't expect it to last long. I did not recommend this printer even though I've had good luck with Epson in the past. One thing, though that I should have mentioned. I wouldn't buy this printer unless I owned stock in an ink company. It burns through ink like crazy and won't work if even one cartridge is empty. It burned through an entire magenta cartridge printing out a 40 odd page black and white document, or most of it, without the magenta I couldn't finish printing said document. I've probably printed out about 6-7 documents (including two of the 40 odd page black and white), mostly single test documents, and already have 10 empty cartridges ready to be recycled. I just added more ink, but I don't... » Read More One thing, though that I should have mentioned. I wouldn't buy this printer unless I owned stock in an ink company. It burns through ink like crazy and won't work if even one cartridge is empty. It burned through an entire magenta cartridge printing out a 40 odd page black and white document, or most of it, without the magenta I couldn't finish printing said document. I've probably printed out about 6-7 documents (including two of the 40 odd page black and white), mostly single test documents, and already have 10 empty cartridges ready to be recycled. I just added more ink, but I don't expect it to last long. I did not recommend this printer even though I've had good luck with Epson in the past. « Show Less